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when i use any shortcut to access a website, firefox opens google website. how to correct?

  • 3 replies
  • 5 have this problem
  • 4 views
  • Last reply by FredMcD

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suddenly, about 3 days ago, any time i click on a desktop shortcut to a website, firefox opens a google homepage. the only way i can use firefox to access web sites is to type a url into the address bar on the google page. all of my desktop shortcuts now open to google home page. major problem is that desktop shortcuts don't show url until firefox opens to the webpage. so unless i know the url and can type it into google homepage address bar, i can't access any of the shortcuts on my desk top.

suddenly, about 3 days ago, any time i click on a desktop shortcut to a website, firefox opens a google homepage. the only way i can use firefox to access web sites is to type a url into the address bar on the google page. all of my desktop shortcuts now open to google home page. major problem is that desktop shortcuts don't show url until firefox opens to the webpage. so unless i know the url and can type it into google homepage address bar, i can't access any of the shortcuts on my desk top.

Chosen solution

It could be you have some mal-ware problems. Start by updating Firefox. then;

==========================

Sometimes a problem with Firefox may be a result of malware installed on your computer, that you may not be aware of.

You can try these free programs to scan for malware, which work with your existing antivirus software:

Microsoft Security Essentials is a good permanent antivirus for Windows 7/Vista/XP if you don't already have one.

Further information can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware article.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

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Chosen Solution

It could be you have some mal-ware problems. Start by updating Firefox. then;

==========================

Sometimes a problem with Firefox may be a result of malware installed on your computer, that you may not be aware of.

You can try these free programs to scan for malware, which work with your existing antivirus software:

Microsoft Security Essentials is a good permanent antivirus for Windows 7/Vista/XP if you don't already have one.

Further information can be found in the Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware article.

Did this fix your problems? Please report back to us!

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i followed your advice and used microsoft safety scanner. it showed no infected items. i then used malwarebytes anti-malware. it showed 126 infected items. it allowed me to remove them, which i did. that solved the problem. thanks.

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Glad to hear it. Every once in a while scan again. Say once a month or so. As you saw from the reports, one scanner picked up where another did not. So use two or three scanners. Happy Computing.